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Blue Lines | 
| Artist: Massive Attack
Label: Wild Bunch
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.98
You Save: £4.01 (45%)
New (62) Used (25) Collectible (1) from £1.99
Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 1247
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 86228
UPC: 077778622826
EAN: 0077778622826
ASIN: B000000WHX
Release Date: June 1, 1991
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Safe From Harm | | • | One Love | | • | Blue Lines | | • | Be Thankful For What You've Got | | • | Five Man Army | | • | Unfinished Sympathy | | • | Daydreaming | | • | Lately | | • | Hymn Of The Big Wheel |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The critical and commercial triumphs of Portishead, Tricky and Roni Size have established Bristol as a centre of slow-burning creativity, but it was the staggering impact Massive Attack made with their debut album which first put the West Country town on the musical map and made reluctant superstars of Mushroom, 3-D and Daddy G. Blue Lines provided a blueprint for the sound which would become known as trip-hop, combining the raw soundsystem vibe of the Wild Bunch parties with immaculate production and the distinguished vocal talents of Tricky, Shara Nelson and Horace Andy. From the understated beats and deftly-arranged ensemble rapping of the title track to the smokey paranoia of "Five Man Army" and the unrepeatable melancholic splendour of "Unfinished Sympathy", the album is a modern classic through and through. It won the Mercury Music Prize in 1992 and remains the finest work of a frighteningly talented group. --Ed Potton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Influential, brilliant .An album fully deserving the title classic. December 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Should i ever be asked to name the album i consider to be the most influential in the history of music( given that i have,nt heard every album in the history of music) i would plump for Massive Attacks 1991 debut album Blue Lines. Trip hop years before the term became synonymous with ....well anything , it triggered a shift in dance and electronic music to what the music critic Simon Reynolds called "a more meditational sound " running ( or maybe loping ) at lower tempo,s .
The band merged black music influences like hip -hop , reggae and soul but allied them to the more ambitious prog aspects of bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson( without the middle class patina) and the savvy dub tones of Public Image. The music is infused with an empirical funkiness but is also emotionally charged .It combines the thrill and life of dance music with the visceral gut wrenching power of great pop or rock music .Jesus, no wonder Blue Lines is so revered.
Several tracks are illuminated by the sky-scraping vocals of Shara Nelson( who gives a lesson in how to sing big ballads that your Mariah,s Leona,s and Celines should be taking notice off .Incidentally her debut solo album is well worth investigating too) Most notable amongst these is the incredible "Unfinished Sympathy" -frequently gushed about as one of the best songs of all time , mainly because it is one of the best songs of all time. With it,s iconic video of Shara Nelson wandering through the streets of L.A. and the sampled "Hey , hey, hey" of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, this is one of those precious songs that straddles genre specifics effortlessly.It,s a smooth laidback dance track sure but it has the inexorable emotional pull of any great piece of pop, rock or classical music. It remains one of the most timeless and wondrous five minutes in music history.
Not that this song is the only moment of brilliance on Blue Lines. The grumbling bass line that underpins another Nelson vocal on "Safe From Harm" , the dub influenced paranoid beats of "Five Man Army " , the gliding soulful tones of "Be Thankful For What You Got" ,the cleverly arranged rapping on the title track ( featuring Tricky ) the glorious "Daydreaming" " ( Shara Nelson again ) or the hypnotic aptly circuitous Hymn Of The Big Wheel " ( featuring Horace Andy who also guests on "One Love") -all these songs contribute hugely to a influential cohesive work impeccably arranged by Neneh Cherry who is also acknowledged by the band as being a major driving force behind the recording .
Is it possible to overstate how important this album was in developing a new direction for dance music and melding together a new collage of sounds? Probably not. Even putting that aside though Blue Lines is an incredible album , even more so given that it is Massive Attacks debut. It oozes confidence , class and almost effortless talent . Astonishingly they were to match it withProtection . It,s no wonder Blue Lines appears regularly in those greatest albums of all time lists. Most pertinently , unlike a lot of albums in those lists, it fully merits it,s place.
Bristol music June 15, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
In reference to the review dubbing this a one track album, what album were you listening to???? I am offended by your review!
Yes unfinished sympathy is a truly great song, but is by no means the best on the album! Blue lines is one of the greatest albums ever and every track is a classic!
 Sadly, a one-track album January 18, 2007
5 out of 24 found this review helpful
The outright winner here is "Unfinished Sympathy", a thing of beauty so superbly crafted and utterly satisfying that, ironically, it makes all the remaining tracks on this album sound dull. Bedazzled and blinded by genius, or just plain ripped off? Whatever the truth is, I'll be inclined to download that one track and spare myself the cost of the album.
A Massive Triumph February 16, 2005
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I came to this album very late - 13 years late to be exact - and I'm still in the honeymoon period with it, playing it constantly. I'm probably about to say the same as everyone else but there's not a duff track here, mainly because of the different styles at play (jazz, hip-hop, dub, dance, bits of soul, the beginnings of trip-hop, tribal beats with 'Hymn of the big wheel' and of course, orchestral music on 'Unfinished Sympathy'). There's a wonderfully sparse, late-night feel on tracks such as 'Blue Lines' and 'Five Man Army' - the way 3D and crew languidly interact with each other on these tracks is awesome - and 'Lately' has such a dreamy, atmospheric quality to it, not forgetting a wicked bassline. Then there's the magnificent 'Unfinished Sympathy', but I don't think I need to go on about the chilling effect it has on my mind, body and soul because that's all old hat really. Not that this album will ever be old hat - I'm pretty sure I'll still be listening to it in another 13 years.
Trip-Hop Heaven November 30, 2004
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
Firstly, for those of you who are new to Massive Attack, who may have heard "Unfinished Sympathy" and not a lot else and think that "Blue Lines" is an album that continues in this desperately majestic vein of ambient flamboyance - I suggest you think again.
Chilled out it is - commercial it certainly isn't, but for me that's the beauty of this album - it's one of the genuine trip-hop albums that isn't afraid to be what it is. You won't find it cowering in a halfway house somewhere between commercial big beats and full-scale ambient nonsense noises. This is Trip-hop at its best! The sort of stuff that you'd chill out to after a massive rave, when you're experiencing that coldness and realizing that you'll never be able to get back the night before and the love you felt.
If you're a fan of the genre you must buy it! However, if you're expecting something of a pre-cursor to Chicane's "Far From The Madding Crowd" you will be disappointed!
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